Saige woke with a head full of nightmares. All evening she’d had vague notions of drifting in and out of consciousness. She hadn’t been sure what was real and what were figments of her imagination, so she’d let the darkness swallow her again, taking her to a sweeter place where there was nothing.
But now she was awake and alert. The memory of last night came crashing down upon her like a wave on the shore. She was in her bed. Someone had dressed her in a nightgown. The window was open once again, the curtains blowing gently in the cool breeze. It wasn’t sunny outside, but it wasn’t stormy either. Just grey, bleak, and cold.
“Oh heavens, you’re awake!”
The voice was animated and shrill.
Saige squirmed.
God, why couldn’t you have had mercy on me?
Aunt Violet careered toward her from the corner chair and began fussing with Saige’s bedsheets. She pulled them tight around her niece, cocooning Saige inside. “Keep warm, dear. You’ve had quite the night. It’s lucky that young musician was with you. Do you remember what happened?”
Before Saige could answer, her aunt cut her off in a highly theatrical voice. “Well, the doors to the balcony blew open suddenly in that terrible storm, and you were already so frightened and on edge that you fainted. The musician… what’s his name? Jack? Jason? Jordan?”
“It’s Jasper.”
“Oh, yes. Silly of me to forget. Such a handsome man. Jasper brought you here to your room and then came down to the basement to get us, and oh, you were so pale and sweaty. And quite undressed. Your father has questions about that, by the way. I thought you must have been terribly ill with a fever and, in your delirium, stripped off. That happens to people when they get hypothermia, you know. I watched over you for most of the night in the dark, and then the generator came back on, and the storm dissipated. Goodness me! What a night! Half the island doesn’t have power. There are trees down cutting off roads. And flooding! The beaches are eroded. And more storms are forecast for this evening, expected to last for several days, in fact. It has the Met Office stumped. Worst storm for Ashvall in thirty years they’re predicting. Poor Zoe is beside herself. Her dream of a garden wedding ruined! But between you and me, your father has paid an excessive sum for this event, so the wedding will be going ahead, rain, hail, or shine, though I suspect it will be in the ballroom now, if the windows aren’t too damaged, of course. Maybe Zoe could—”
“Zoe’s okay?” Saige had struggled to find a pause in her aunt’s loud monologue of despair.
Violet had gone red in the face from talking too much. “Yes, dear. She was found passed out in one of the bathrooms upstairs. Drinking to excess, I’m afraid.” Her aunt mouthed the next words but failed to keep her voice below a whisper. “Zoe can’t remember a thing about last night. Blind drunk. It’s disgraceful.”
Saige tossed the bedsheets aside and stood on unsteady legs. Her head took a moment to catch up with her. The room spun, but she forced her way to the door and out into the hallway.
“Saige! Take it easy, dear. Where are you going?”
She ignored her aunt. She’d had enough of the eccentric woman to last her a decade. Saige forced strength into her legs and ran down the hallway. A few well-dressed guests on their way to brunch had to flatten themselves against the walls to avoid being hit by her. Saige didn’t care that she made a spectacle of herself. She ran up the stairs to the third level and bounded into Zoe’s bedroom without knocking. The door swung open so hard it hit the wall with a thud.
Zoe was resting in her bed, her face covered in a green facial mask. She startled awake, and then her eyes turned flat with disappointment. “Great. It’s you. What do you want?” Her voice was hollow and lacked its usual cattiness. She flinched at the bleak light that filtered through the curtains. “Jesus. Can you shut that?”
Saige crossed the room and pulled the curtains closed. “How are you feeling?”
She didn’t really care. She just wanted to make sure Zoe was… well, Zoe. Not the possessed monster that had taken control of her mind and body.
Zoe glared between slitted eyes. “Are you serious? How does it look like I feel?”
Like you’ve been intoxicated for the last two days.
Saige studied Zoe for a few moments, taking in the paleness of her long neck and bruise-stippled arms. Scratches ran along her right shoulder. Fingernail scores. “Do you remember anything about last night? Your arms… that all looks painful.”
Saige recalled the thin passage to the hidden chamber. The memory of claustrophobia closed in again. The stone walls had been notched and rough. Her own arms were grazed where the skin had abraded with the rock.
Just like Zoe’s.
It was the evidence she needed. Whatever thing had taken possession of Zoe had come after her and Jasper.
But what is it?
Zoe tossed her a contemptuous look, as though Saige were a silly child asking why the sea was blue. “What are you, a detective?”
Ignoring the jibe, Saige drew closer. The stench of alcohol wafted off Zoe, last night’s indulgence not yet lifted. “I’m a concerned sister-in-law.”
Zoe rolled her eyes. “Fine. If you must know, I do remember the seance. Kya was a real bitch. She made up a message and told me I was going to die on my wedding night. I mean, seriously? I was upset and wanted to get away from the party. I came upstairs, and then the next thing I know, I’m waking up in a bathroom. Can you get Nurse Tylah? My head hurts like a real—”
“Think,” Saige snapped. She didn’t know anything about a Nurse Tylah. She was too desperate for information to give a damn about Zoe’s comfort. “Did you hear anyone behind you? Did you see anything out of the ordinary?”
Please. Just a clue. Anything.
Anger contorted Zoe’s green-smeared features. “For God’s sake. I told you what I remember. I passed out.” Her lips hardened into a sneer. “Apparently you fainted too. At least I managed to keep my clothes on.”
The taunt threw Saige. Anger and humiliation settled inside her. She blurted the first hateful thought that came to mind. “Perhaps you should reflect on Kya’s message from the seance. You’re a bitch, Zoe. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone was coming after you.”
A flame of satisfaction lit inside her at the sight of Zoe’s appalled face, then dissipated the moment she realised she’d stooped to the hateful model’s level. Saige stormed out of the room. Her arms and legs shook, dizziness washing through her in waves.
Maybe I should look for Nurse Tylah for myself.
She stumbled in what she thought was the direction of the bathroom. The walls, floor, ceiling—it all rushed at her.
This house… it’s making me go crazy.
Wolvercraft Manor was a beast, the halls and passages its veins, the rooms and parlours its organs.
We are the meal inside.
“Saige.”
She turned to find Jasper.
His eyes took her in with quick assessment. “Your aunt told me you were awake. Are you all right?”
Strangely enough, she was. Just having Jasper with her—not being alone—had somehow lessened her anxiety. It was still there but not as prevalent. She could breathe again.
She nodded. “I’m sorry. I just—”
“You don’t need to explain. I haven’t slept a wink.” His lips tightened into a thin line. “What was that thing last night?”
“I don’t know.” Saige wrapped her arms around herself. “It had possession of Zoe. It was going to take her.” The lining of her mouth tasted sticky. She stared at Jasper, unable to keep the emotion from spilling down her cheeks. “I think it took my mother.”
“Hey, come here.” He gently took her in his arms, holding her tight. She didn’t push away. Didn’t fight. She was far too exhausted for that. For one contented moment, Saige experienced the illusion of safety sweep through her.
But it only lasted a second.
* * *
“Do you think we should tell your father about the chamber?” Jasper watched her with curious interest.
They were out in the gardens, underneath the turret-shaped gazebo. When Saige had been a little girl, she’d squealed in happy delight when she’d first seen it, thinking it was a carousel with ponies. She’d cried the entire night when she’d realised her mistake. Back then, the gazebo was a marble structure with grapevine-style designs fashioned in cast iron, but now it was covered in ivy and small white flowers, wet and wilted from the storm but still beautiful.
It was late morning. Rain had settled in, the drizzle causing clouds of mist to roll across the lawns and curl around Wolvercraft Manor like aimless, wandering souls.
A cold feeling prickled up the back of Saige’s neck. She settled on a stone bench, unsure if her legs could support her much longer. “I don’t know. I suppose it couldn’t hurt. Dad and Aunt Prue would certainly want it investigated.”
“Investigated?”
“Yes. People from all over this island disappeared when the Nazis occupied Ashvall. That chamber was probably where their lives ended. Historians will want to see it and research it. Police, too, I would imagine.”
Jasper scooted closer. “Okay. So we tell your father? We tell him that last night when we were searching for Zoe, we discovered a hidden door that led to a concealed dungeon. The storm last night… the temperature and pressure changes in the house… they’re all reasonable explanations for why that door could have opened.”
Saige squeezed her eyes shut until she saw red. “It sounds utterly ridiculous.”
“Well, it sounds better than saying, ‘Hey, Dad, last night your future daughter-in-law was possessed and chased me out of a concealed torture chamber.’ I’m sure that will go down real well.”
Saige stared at the ground with reluctance. She knew Jasper was right. She exhaled a long sigh. “We can’t say anything. I wouldn’t even be able to find that door again. Last night, the house led me down passages I’ve never seen before.”
Jasper dropped onto the bench beside her, his hands held tensely together. He’d always moved with confidence and purpose. It pained Saige to see him this anxious.
No. He hurt me. I don’t care how he feels.
But she couldn’t help laying her head against his shoulder as Jasper wrapped an arm around her. Human contact, even Jasper’s, was better than being alone in this situation.
His breath was warm against her forehead when he spoke. “Then the alternative is to monitor Zoe. We try to keep her as safe as possible until the wedding is over.”
“But that’s what I’m afraid of.” Saige tipped her head to look at him. “All the women who married into the Wolvercraft family died after their weddings. I think the only way to keep Zoe safe is to prevent the wedding from happening.”
They were so close together that Saige felt the warmth of body heat in the small space between their mouths. It made her sad to be this close to him. It made her grieve for a time that could never be again. Her heart pounded impossibly fast. Jasper’s arms tightened around her. Despite her head shouting at her to move away, she didn’t want to.
The wind picked up. Specks of rain drizzled around them, the cold somehow bringing them tighter together. Jasper’s dark hair blew off his face. The way he looked at her was so intense. His brown eyes searched hers, seeking the woman behind the fear and madness.
Good luck finding her.
Jasper stroked her cheek with the back of his hand.
“Saige,” a voice barked.
They both whirled around.
Xav stood between the gazebo’s thick Romanesque columns. His red hair, usually slicked back, was sodden and matted, his coat saturated. He lit a cigarette. The only time Xav smoked was when he was seriously stressed. Saige thought he’d given up the habit. Her brother inhaled deeply and glared. Not at Saige. At Jasper. His eyes darted between the pair. “What’s going on?”
Her already hammering heart edged up another degree. She tore away from Jasper, embarrassingly aware of what this must have looked like to her brother.
Jasper straightened. “We were just talking.”
“Talking?” Xav’s voice was a sharp, cutting laugh. “What were you talking about?”
“The wedding,” Saige blurted before her head could catch up with her.
It’s kind of true.
Xav’s eyes narrowed. He didn’t look like he believed either of them. “If you don’t mind, Jasp, I’d like a moment with my sister.”
Jasper smiled, but it lacked certainty. He turned to her. “I’ll be in the house… if you need me.”
She watched him walk out into the rain, the mist wrapping around him until he was entirely lost from view. Saige experienced a deep chill in her bones, like the only light in the dark had gone out.
She mentally slapped herself.
I can’t think of Jasper in that way. Not after what he did.
Her brother sat beside her. He studied her, his eyes intent on her face. “What are you doing with Jasper?”
His question was so direct, it caught her off-guard.
Why does he care?
Xav wanted her to stay away from him and Zoe, but now he was stepping in and playing the big brother role again, demanding answers.
Maybe he’d been speaking in the heat of the moment.
Hope flared inside her.
Maybe Xav didn’t mean what he said.
She hugged herself, trying to keep warm. “Nothing. Jasper and I were just talking.”
“It didn’t look like you were just talking.” His face transformed into a glare. “Saige, people are saying they’ve been seeing the two of you together a lot over these last two days.”
“What people?”
Xav didn’t reply. He tossed his cigarette on the ground and crushed it with his boot.
“When did you pick up that habit again?”
“This morning… when Zoe started behaving strangely.” His gaze became intense on hers. “Don’t go near Jasper, okay? He’s a bad influence, and he’ll only lead you to trouble.”
So this is the big brother talk.
“I’ve known Jasper since school,” Xav continued. “Girls are a drug for him. A short fix. The guy doesn’t like being alone, but he doesn’t like commitment either. Keep your distance from him, sis. He’s bad news.”
Saige felt the blood drain out of her face. “There’s nothing going on between us.”
If this was the way Xav was behaving now, he could never, ever know the truth about her and Jasper. Xav would probably drown the guy if he knew his school friend was once engaged to his sister.
Good God, this is such a mess.
Xav stared at the house. From this distance, Wolvercraft Manor appeared as though it had been built in the centre of a lake, seen only through a thin sweep of fog that moved in a lazy, hypnotising speed across the water. If the house frightened him, he didn’t show it. He lightly punched Saige’s arm, the sincere way only big brothers could do. “From the look of things, Jasper has you set in his sights. Don’t fall for it. He has a girlfriend.”
Her stomach heaved. Those four little words had caused her more pain than she wanted to acknowledge.
He has a girlfriend.
It echoed in her head, taunting and ruthless.
She sucked in a rattling breath she hoped her brother didn’t notice. “Xav, I promise. We were just talking.”
And I can also promise that I will never be talking to Jasper Young again.
She stood to leave.
“Wait.”
Xav fidgeted with his hair. Rainwater trailed down his face. “I came here to tell you some bad news. Aunt Prue sent a message to Dad. That lady you were looking for last night, the one staying with Aunt Prue… the doctor, right?”
“Yes. Harriette Reynolds.” A sudden, ebbing fear took hold of Saige.
“She’s missing.”